Classical Homeopathy Approach in the Treatment of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

1. CASE REPORT CLASSICAL HOMEOPATHY APPROACH IN THE TREATMENT OF METHICILLIN-RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS Pierre Fontaine, RSHom CCH,1#and Karen Lawson, RSHom1 INTRODUCTION Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacteria that is resistant to most common antibiotics. Aside from meth- icillin, the bacteria is also resistant to other more common anti- biotics such as oxacillin, penicillin, and amoxicillin.1Staph in- fections, including MRSA, occur most frequently in patients who have recently been hospitalized for long periods, who have had invasive medical procedures, or who have weakened im- mune systems. Individuals treated in long-term healthcare facil- ities such as nursing homes or dialysis centers have been consid- eredmostatrisk.Inahealthcaresetting,MRSAcancauseserious and potentially life-threatening infections such as bloodstream infection, infections at a surgical site, or pneumonia. However, MRSA infections also occur in otherwise healthy people who have not recently been hospitalized or undergone an invasive medical procedure. These infections usually present as skin in- fections, pimples, boils, or other pus-filled lesions, but can rapidly progress to more life-threatening infections. In this oth- erwise healthy population, they are known as community-asso- ciated MRSA infection; according to a recent study,2MRSA has becomethemostfrequentcauseofskinandsofttissueinfections presenting at emergency rooms in the United States. During the period from 1999 to 2005, the estimated number of hospitaliza- tions involving S aureus–related infections increased 62%, from 294,570 to 477,927. In 2005, there were 11,406 S aureus–related deaths, of which 6,639 were MRSA-related.3 CurrentmedicaltreatmentforMRSAusuallyinvolvesremov- ing the infected person to an isolation ward and the use of the intravenous antibiotic Vancomycin. The hospital stay can be several days. The patient is usually sent home with wound care instructions and a prescription for the ointment Bactroban, which is applied to the internal nasal passages. The infection can be controlled this way, but in many cases the patient will remain colonized. Although vancomycin is currently effective against MRSA, it is clear that increased resistance exists and some hos- pitals are already reporting strains that are less sensitive to van- comycin.4 opathy is widely practiced throughout Europe and Asia and is increasing in use in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the National Health Service operates five dedicated homeo- pathic hospitals. According to a 2005 study, 70% of 6,544 fol- low-up patients reported improvements in their health. Among the ailments most commonly treated were eczema, asthma, mi- graine, irritable bowel syndrome, and chronic fatigue.5In the modern day context, there is unfortunately little data on the use of homeopathy in acute outbreaks of infectious disease, but historically it has been effectively applied in outbreaks of chol- era, influenza, and scarlet fever. During the 1918 Spanish influ- enza epidemic, data collected by the Hahnemann College of Medicine in Philadelphia showed a mortality rate of only 1.05% amongst a group of 26,795 cases treated by homeopaths. The mortality rate in the general population treated medically was 30%.6 Homeopathy is symptom driven and based on careful obser- vation of the individual signs and symptoms as exhibited by the patient. It is experiential, and the homeopath pays extremely close attention to the use of language by the patient in relating how the ailment is affecting him. A remedy acts as a reversing trigger on the self-healing vital force of the body that is being challenged. It is described as working at a vitalistic level, similar to acupuncture. It is biodynamic in nature rather than biochem- ical, as Western medicine is. Homeopathy is very effective in chronic illnesses, but as the case below illustrates, homeopathy can also be extremely effec- tive in acute infections that require daily monitoring and fre- quent reevaluation of remedy selection. CASE PRESENTATION History James,anotherwisehealthy40-year-oldman,enteredourcarein late November 2007. He had sustained a minor scratch on his finger at the end of September 2007 while clearing away vegeta- tion in upstate New York. Despite thorough wound care at the time, James’ finger began swelling up during the night of the scratch and within three days had progressed to a severe infec- tion. James sought advice at a walk-in clinic near his home and was prescribed antibiotics. He had no improvement over the next two days, at which point he visited the emergency depart- ment at New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. His finger was red, edematous, and showed clear signs of infection. His wound was lanced in the emergency department and the exudates sent for analysis. As a precaution, James was admitted to the hospital overnight and received an intravenous antibiotic and analgesics. On discharge the next day, he was instructed aboutwoundcareandhehopedtheinfectionwouldclear.How- ever,hereceivedamessagetwodayslaterinforminghimthatthe HOMEOPATHY In this light, it seems important to examine the potential of alternative therapies that do not make use of costly drugs or hospital stays to combat such infections, and prevent the risk of developing further antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. Home- 1 Private practice, New York, NY # Corresponding Author. Address: 192 Lexington Avenue, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10016 e-mail: pierre@homeopathicservices.com 347 EXPLORE November/December 2009, Vol. 5, No. 6 doi:10.1016/j.explore.2009.08.005 © 2009 by Elsevier Inc. Printed in the United States. All Rights Reserved ISSN 1550-8307/09/$36.00